What happens when we lose an institution?

While I was never a member of the Society of Arts & Crafts in Boston, their closing comes as shocking news to me sitting on my couch in North Carolina. Growing up just outside Boston, the store on Newbury St. and CraftBoston events were places I always looked forward to visiting. The Society was founded in 1897 and has been a cornerstone of Arts and Craft for 127 years. What scares me most about the fact they have decided to close is not just what it means for the craft community, but also what is says about our current society as a greater whole.

My last job in Massachusetts (and first desk job ever) was at Skinner auction house working as the admin in the Fine Jewelry Department. It was a difficult time for me, but a job where I learned more than I ever could have imagined and where I was able to get up close and personal to some amazing objects.

One thing that will stay with me forever was an archive from one of the most important figures in the American Arts & Crafts movement- and a member and leader in the Society of Arts & Crafts- Frank Gardner Hale.

On the outside it was a generic plastic box found in most attics. But inside was a vision from the past, saved by generations of Hale’s family: lecture notes with handwriting scribbled in the margins, folios of hand painted jewelry designs and black and white photos capturing moments in Hale’s workshop. It sat under my desk for months, and whenever I had a few minutes I would pour over the pages, reading speeches he gave talking of issues artists and craftspeople still face today: How do we keep the integrity, quality and humanity of art in Art and Craft and not let mass production steal our souls? Those were not his exact words, but that is the meaning I took from them. It was staggering to me that 100 years later his words could be so fresh and still true. And the SAC has been supporting and advocating for Arts and Crafts all that time.

It’s been a while since I’ve thought about that collection, but since I read about the SAC closing its all I’ve been thinking about. Having moved away from Boston not long after the Hale archive sold at auction in 2014, I became removed from the arts scene in the area. I didn’t even realize CraftBoston folded after Covid and the store closed as well.

Mostly I feel guilty- like I’ve let Hale down. I know that’s silly- call it a remnant from growing up Catholic in Boston- but that archive meant so much to me- I felt like I got to know Hale and how important his mission (and the SAC’s) to support handmade craft was to him. My role in the Fine Jewelry Department of a large auction house felt foreign to me and that archive connected me to a place I felt comfortable and at home- at a bench as a jeweler and maker.

In some good news, my jewelry school alma mater, the North Bennet Street School- will be receiving the assets from SAC. As the letter on the SAC website says: “For decades the two organizations have been Boston’s strongest advocates for craft. NBSS excels in training and supporting fine craft artists. Its mission is to train students for careers in traditional trades that use hand skills in concert with evolving technology, to preserve and advance craft traditions, and to promote greater
appreciation of craftsmanship.” How will NBSS make use of these assets? How will 127 years of partnerships and artistry at the SAC be integrated into the future of NBSS?

So where do we as makers and stewards of traditional craft go from here? If an institution that has been around for 127 years can’t stay open, how will we survive? How do we educate and encourage the next generations to become makers? What is our role as makers in society today? How do we keep not just mass production like in Hale’s time- but now also AI- from removing all traces of handiwork? What does the fact that society today doesn’t support entities like the SAC anymore mean? What does it mean about me as a maker- and believer in the importance of handmade art and craft- that I didn’t do anything to participate or help to keep such a vital institution alive?

I clearly have a lot more questions than answers, but as I sit feeling uncomfortable, upset and angry that the SAC had to close- I am more determined than ever to continue on as a jeweler, sharing my love of jewelry- and to make Frank Gardner Hale proud.

P.S. Learning about the SAC closing has really fired me up and inspired me to write about arts, craft, traditional crafts and jewelry more- so stay tuned!